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LAGOS, Feb 4 (Reuters) - After months of delays, Nigerian
prosecutors began presenting their evidence against 47 men
charged with public displays of affection with members of the
same sex, but asked for an adjournment after calling one
witness.
Prosecution lawyer Ilyas Abdulrahman said their lead
witness, the police inspector who led the raid in which the men
were arrested, would appear on Wednesday.
The trial in Lagos is seen as a test case for a law that
criminalises homosexuality, which is outlawed in many socially
conservative African societies where some religious groups brand
it a corrupting Western import.
On Tuesday the prosecution called police Inspector Ade
Adegboye, who said he knew three of the defendants from his
"anti-cultism" work. He declined to answer questions from the
defence and said nothing regarding the charges against the men,
who face up to 10 years in jail if convicted.
The men were arrested in a police raid on a hotel in the
Egbeda district of Lagos in August 2018. Police said they were
being "initiated" into a gay club, but the accused said they
were attending a birthday party.
Their case is seen as a test for a Nigerian law that bans
gay marriage, punishable by a 14-year jail term, and same-sex
"amorous relationships".
The law caused an international outcry when it came into
force in 2014. Nobody has yet been convicted under the law,
prosecution and defence lawyers in the case have previously told
Reuters.
The trial was previously adjourned twice without opening
remarks because the prosecution did not bring its witnesses to
court.